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236 some interesting facts about scotland

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Read the text carefully and then answer the questions William Wallace is the Lowland warrior, a real legend He was a popular man, because of his minor noble and landowner background, who won a great victory for Scotland at the Battle of Stirling Bridge However, there are different other stories One of the stories says that he became a military leader in the Lowlands of Scotland Scotland ’s symbol is a thistle which is connected to William Wallace partly It is a thorny, wild plant, which usually have yellow or purple flowers Its earlier use was on the silver coins brought out by James III There are some legends of the thistle One of them is the following: when Scotland was under attack by the Vikings from 795 for hundreds of years a major part of Scotland even belonged to the Kingdom of Norway According to the legend, the Norsemen attempted to astonish the resting Scottish Clansmen The Norsemen took off their footwear to move over quietly under the cover of darkness However, they came across a patch of ground full of thistles As a result, one of the troop men stepped on one and shouted in pain, thus warning the Scottish warriors of the advancing Norsemen Loch Ness is the largest and the northernmost of the three lochs The others are Loch Lochy and Loch Oich Loch Ness was formed about 10,000 years ago, when the Ice Age ended The sides of the loch are very rocky and steep but the bottom of the Loch is flat It is nearly 24 miles long and and a half miles wide The loch is the largest body of freshwater in Britain It is fed by seven rivers and never freezes The temperature of the water changes at about 100 feet down in the loch An interesting question arises about Nessie Monster Is the legend true? No one knows the answer However, there are lots of different ideas and monster theories what the monster might be In 2003 a fossilised vertebra of a plesiosaur was found on the banks of Loch Ness Is the monster a seal, an elephant, an overgrown eel, a sturgeon or a long-necked newt? No idea What does it eat and how? The Loch is full of zooplankton and fish In that deep Loch could Nessie live, eat and catch her food in complete darkness? As a result, this mystery will remain a mystery Is the legend true? Does it also hold the Water Horse? Yes, there is a fine-looking horse standing on the shores of a loch, it may have been a kelpie Kelpies are supernatural horses that haunt Scotland’s lochs and lonely rivers They have the magical ability to shape-shift Taking the form of beautiful horses or handsome young men with dark eyes Some people believe that the Loch Ness Monster may have been a kelpie There is a legend about whisky St Patrick introduced distilling to Ireland in the 5th century AD The word Whisky was derived from the Gaelic ’usquebaugh’, meaning ’water of life’, phonetically became usky and then whisky It was first produced in Scotland in 1494 and for many years it was smuggled to avoid paying taxes The word ’Scotch’ is used to mean a strong alcoholic drink all over the world Two walt whiskies are never the same The taste cannot be copied anywhere else in the world, as water comes from the local hills The distilling process was originally applied to perfume, then to wine and finally adapted to fermented mashes of cereals It was used for medical purposes such as relief of colic and even smallpox The invention of coffee was led to the production of Grain Whisky As a result, whisky is made of cereals, mostly barley and is usually sold as blends of several types One of them is SINGLE MALT It is made of a single type of grain Lot of people drink whisky with water, soda water or soft drinks or ice Scotland is famous for its traditional clans (family) and tartans Sometimes there were fierce battles between different clans The chief of each clan had complete authority They settled around lochs and valleys Today, they live in peace The tartan was common in the Highlands It was worn as a single piece of cloth, drawn in at the waist and thrown over the shoulders The kilt became popular in the 18th century All clans have its own tartan A tartan kilt was an important part of a clansman’s traditional clothing Kilt is a kind of skirt that is knee-length pleated Today Scottish men wear it only on special occasions Many people take pride of their Scottish ancestors and being members of a clan There is a historical and cultural split between Highland and Lowland Scotland Sir Walter Scott and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were internationally successful writers More recently, the author J K Rowling has become one of the most popular and wealthiest authors in the world through her Harry Potter series Answer the questions Which plant is connected to William Wallace’s name? _ What you know about this plant? What happened with the Norsemen? _ _ Where does Nessie live? _ What does it eat? What is kelpie? What did St.Patrick introduced? Where was it used? _ What is whisky made from? What is clan? What kind of clothes are connected to the Scottish Clans? Is it true or false? (T/F) William Wallace’s friends were the Norsemen _ Thistle is a nice flower _ There are three big lochs in Scotland _ Loch Ness never freezes _ Single malt is a kind of whisky Tartan is a kind of skirt Which is which? Write down the names under the pictures _ CHOOSE and write a short composition about:- Nessie the Monster - J.K Rowling: Harry Potter - Traditional Scottish clothes _ I hope you enjoyed visiting Scotland

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